Biology › Section D · Energy: metabolism, respiration, photosynthesis › Topic D.4
Energy in living systems and glycolysis
Before a cell can spend energy it has to move it around - and cells move energy as electrons. This is the chemistry of redox: strip an electron from one molecule, hand it to a carrier like NAD+, and you have moved a little packet of usable energy. With ATP as the rechargeable battery and glycolysis as the first, universal pathway for cashing glucose in, this topic sets up everything cellular respiration does.
In this topic
- Redox: energy rides on electrons
- Electron carriers: NAD and FAD
- ATP: the rechargeable battery
- Phosphorylation: spending and making ATP
- Glycolysis: the universal first pathway
- First half: the ATP investment
- Second half: the payoff
- Worked example: the glycolysis ledger
- Worked example: the NAD+ bottleneck
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
This topic is part of Wuanberri Pro. Checking your access…